separate the sheep from the goats

Idioms  

1. Distinguish between good and bad individuals, or superior and inferior ones. For example, In a civil war where both sides commit atrocities, you can't separate the sheep from the goats. This term refers to Jesus's prophecy in the New Testament (Matthew 25:32) that the sheep (that is, the compassionate) will sit on God's right hand (and find salvation), and the goats (the hard-hearted) will sit on the left (and be sent to damnation).

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Example Sentences

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separate the sheep from the goats

One woman mentioned Jesus’ promise to separate the sheep from the goats on the Last Judgment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2023

As colleges cut spending - as they must - how they do that will separate the sheep from the goats.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 3, 2020

He fails to receive an invitation to an important executive luncheon, at which the management intends to separate the sheep from the goats, and he concludes that his career has gone from baa to worse.

From Time Magazine Archive

They guarantee every child an elementary education, but at the end of this period they separate the sheep from the goats.

From Time Magazine Archive

The examinations are not sufficiently extensive and intensive to separate the sheep from the goats.

From Rural Life and the Rural School by Kennedy, Joseph